Thin Semiconductor Device Having Embedded Die Support and Methods of Making the Same

ABSTRACT

Ultra-thin semiconductor devices, including piezoresistive sensing elements can be formed in a wafer stack that facilitates handling many thin device dice at a wafer level. Three embodiments are provided to form the thin dice in a wafer stack using three different fabrication techniques that include anodic bonding, adhesive bonding and fusion bonding. A trench is etched around each thin die to separate the thin die from others in the wafer stack. A tether layer, also known as a tether, is used to hold thin dice or dice in a wafer stack. Such as wafer stack holds many thin dice together at a wafer level for handling and enables easier die picking in packaging processes.

This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser.No. 12/473,179, entitled Thin Semiconductor Device Having Embedded DieSupport and Methods of Making the Same, filed May 27, 2009, the entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Integrated circuits are being formed on smaller and thinnersemiconductor die for a variety of reasons and applications. Relativelythin integrated circuits (ICs) or semiconductor die, also known as“ultra-thin” or “super-thin” ICs or die (also referred to as thin diebelow), are used in applications such as smart cards, smart labels,sensors and actuators. One example of a thin die application is forpressure sensors wherein a thin die containing a piezoresistive circuitis mounted on the top of a diaphragm in a pressure port to sensepressure.

When making and handling a thin die, care must be taken not to fractureor otherwise damage the die. A need therefore exists for improvedmethods and procedures to fabricate, separate, and transport thin dicefor high volume applications where automated techniques are required toproduce high throughput and acceptable yields.

It is already known to separate and handle integrated circuits on thinsemiconductor wafers by mechanical grinding, chemical etching and dryetching with the assistance of adhesive or UV-reactive release tapes andcarrier wafers. Some of the approaches taken in the electronics industryto separate thin wafers into die and to handle thin die include dicingby cutting and dicing by thinning. In dicing by cutting, a dicing tapeis mounted on frames. The wafers are mounted to the dicing tape,backside down. Dicing is carried out by sawing, laser cutting and/or dryetching. After cutting, the die are separated on the dicing tape andsent to the assembly line on a wafer frame for pick and place. The thindice are then ejected from the backside of the tape with the help of anejector pin and picked by a vacuum tip. An example of this process flowis described in Muller et al., “Smart Card Assembly Requires AdvancedPre-Assembly Methods,” SEMICONDUCTOR INTERNATIONAL (July 2000) 191.

In dicing by thinning, trenches are etched or sawed on the topside of adevice wafer. Laminating tapes are then placed on a carrier wafer formounting the carrier wafer to the topside of the device wafer. Thebottom side of the device wafer is then thinned until the topsidetrenches are opened from the bottom side. A second carrier wafer is thenmounted to the bottom side of the device wafer by a high-temperaturerelease tape. The first carrier wafer is removed and then the thin diecan be removed by locally heating a vacuum-picking tool. An example ofthis process flow requiring multiple carrier wafers and tape transfersis described in C. Landesberger et al., “New Process Scheme for WaferThinning and Stress-Free Separation of Ultra Thin ICs,” published atMICROSYSTEMS TECHNOLOGIES, MESAGO, Dusseldorf, Germany (2001).

Alternatively, it has been known to saw or cut a carrier wafer intocarrier chips, each of them carrying a thin die. In this case, thecarrier chip is removed after die bonding by thermal release of theadhesive tape. An example of this process flow is described in Pinel etal., “Mechanical Lapping, Handling and Transfer of Ultra-Thin Wafers,”JOURNAL OF MICROMECHANICS AND MICROENGINEERING, Vol. 8, No. 4 (1998)338.

Conventional procedures have been met with a varying degree of success.The combination of carrier transfers and tape transfers necessitatemultiple steps with long cycle times and yield loss. Moreover, the useof heat release and other tapes may exhibit unacceptable residualadhesion. When used in combination with an ejector pin, the edges maynot delaminate from the tape due to the lack of flexural rigidity of thethin die and due to the die's small size in the in-plane directions. Thesmall size of the die may also limit the net suction force that could beexerted by the vacuum tip to overcome residual tape adhesion.Conventional dicing and wafer sawing methods often damage thin die,which cause device failure or sensor performance degradation.Conventional ejector pins may exert excessive stress that damages thethin die, also causing cracking and device failure. Carrier transfer ortape transfer may lead to die contamination on both sides of the die.Multiple transfers by wafer carriers typically lead to lower yield dueto increased handling and contamination. In the case of a very thin diefor sensor applications, organic adhesive may leave residue on the diesurface, causing poor bonding with the surface being measured. It is,therefore, desirable to provide an improved device and method offabricating, separating and handling very thin dice to overcome most, ifnot all, of the preceding problems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sensing element in a pressure sensor;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional diagram of a sensing element as shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3-FIG. 7 show the front end process steps in fabricating a waferstack holding many thin dice to be used in a pressure sensing element asshown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 in one embodiment of using fusion bond toform the wafer stack and using a standard polished silicon wafer as thedevice wafer;

FIG. 8-FIG. 13 show the front end process steps in fabricating a waferstack holding many thin dice to be used in a pressure sensing element asshown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 in one embodiment of using fusion bond toform the wafer stack and using a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer as thedevice wafer;

FIG. 14-FIG. 15 show the back end process steps in fabricating a waferstack holding many thin dice to be used in a pressure sensing element asshown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 in one embodiment of using fusion bond toform the wafer stack;

FIG. 16 shows a cross-sectional view of a completed wafer stack in oneembodiment of using fusion bond to form the wafer stack;

FIG. 17-FIG. 18 show the assembly steps for separating the thin die fromthe wafer stack formed by fusion bond;

FIG. 19-FIG. 21 show the “front end” process steps in fabricating awafer stack holding many thin dice to be used in a pressure sensingelement as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 in second embodiment of usinganodic bond to form the wafer stack and using a silicon-on-insulator(SOI) wafer as the device wafer;

FIG. 22-FIG. 24 show the “front end” process steps in fabricating awafer stack holding many thin dice to be used in a pressure sensingelement as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 in third embodiment of usingadhesive bond to form the wafer stack and using a silicon-on-insulator(SOI) wafer as the device wafer;

FIG. 25-FIG. 27 show the “back end” process steps in fabricating a waferstack holding many thin dice to be used in a pressure sensing element asshown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, in the methods of using both anodic andadhesive bonds to form the wafer stack;

FIG. 28 shows a cross-sectional view of a completed wafer stack in oneembodiment of using adhesive bond to form the wafer stack;

FIG. 29-FIG. 30 show the assembly steps for separating the thin die fromthe wafer stack formed by the fusion bond.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is perspective view of a sensing element 10 for a pressuresensor. The sensing element assembly 10, which is also referred toherein as simply a sensing element 10, is comprised of a sensor portbody 12 having a bottom end 14 and a top end 16.

In FIG. 2, which is a cross-section view of the sensing element assembly10 shown in FIG. 1, it can be seen that most of the interior of thesensor port body 12 is hollow, which provides the sensor port body 12with an empty interior having the shape of an elongated cylinder 18 thesidewall of which is identified by reference numeral 32.

The cylinder 18 is formed to extend from and through the bottom end 14toward the top end 16, and ends at relatively planar surface 24proximate the top end 16. The portion of the sensor port body 12 locatedbetween the surface area 24 of the hollow cylinder 18 and a parallelsurface area on the top end 16, defines a flexible diaphragm 20 having adiaphragm edge 28 defined by a geometric line that extends upwardly fromthe sidewall 32.

The diaphragm 20 has a top surface or side 22 and a bottom surface orside 24. In pressure sensor applications, a fluid (gas or liquid) in thehollow cylinder 18 exerts a pressure on the bottom side 24 of thediaphragm 20. The diaphragm 20 will therefore be deflected upwardly ordownwardly depending on the difference between the pressure applied tothe bottom side 24 and the pressure applied to the top side 22 of thediaphragm 20. As set forth more fully below, a semiconductor die 26attached to the top side 22 includes a circuit, the electricalcharacteristics of which change in response to diaphragm deflection. Forpressure sensor applications, the circuit in die 26 is a Wheatstonebridge circuit, made of piezoresistive resistors formed into the die 26.The resistance values of the piezoresistors change in response to thestress exerted on the die 26, which is caused by deflection of thediaphragm 20.

In order to measure fluid pressure in the cylinder 18, a thin die 26having a nominal thickness between 5 to 50 microns, is fabricated tohave a piezoresistive bridge circuit. The value of the resistiveelements changes responsive to diaphragm deflections. The thin die 26 ismounted to the top side 22 of the diaphragm 20 by an adhesive material27, that is preferably a frit glass.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the die 26 is located near the diaphragm edge28. The die 26 is attached to the diaphragm 20 such that most of the die26 is over the cylinder 18 but at least a portion of the die 26 islocated at or near the diaphragm edge 28 so that the die 26 willexperience a maximum stress change responsive to the diaphragmdeflection by the pressure in the hollow cylinder 18 or on the topsurface 22. It is the stress change induced in the die 26 by thediaphragm deflection responsive to the applied pressure signal thatresults in a resistance change of the piezoresistive Wheatstone bridgecircuit in the die 26. The resistance change responsive to the appliedpressure is electrically amplified and processed by electronic circuits,not shown for brevity but well-known to those of ordinary skill andwhich output an electrical signal representative of the pressure insidethe cylinder 18, and in a format required by specific applications. Forbrevity, only the pressure sensing element assembly 10 depicted in FIGS.1 and 2 is described. Electronic circuits and circuit components andpackaging and assembly steps for making a complete pressure sensor,electrical connections, lead wires and calibration steps, which are wellknown in the art, are omitted for brevity.

Those of ordinary skill in the semiconductor arts know that hundreds oreven thousands of individual semiconductor dice can be fabricated from asingle wafer. The die 26 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is therefore one ofmany such dice formed from a wafer.

Three methods or embodiments for making the die 26 from a wafer aredescribed below. Each method of forming a die 26 uses a device wafer anda carrier or support wafer with one wafer stacked on top of the other.The vertical arrangement of two wafers is therefore considered to be astack of wafers or a wafer stack.

The three methods or embodiments of fabricating the die 26 are referredto herein as a fusion bond method, an anodic bond method and an adhesivebond method with the terms, fusion, anodic and adhesive referring to themethod and structure by which the two wafers (device and support) arejoined or attached to each other. Any one of the three methods can beused to form a wafer stack that holds hundreds or thousands of die 26depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2. For simplicity as well as clarity andbrevity, only one die structure is shown in the accompanying figures,which depict steps of the three methods of forming the die 26 at a waferlevel.

FIG. 3-FIG. 18 depict cross sectional views of making a wafer stack indifferent process steps and separating the thin die from the wafer stackin the first embodiment. The first embodiment uses a fusion bond to formthe wafer stack. Two wafers that include a device wafer and a substratewafer form the wafer stack. Two different types of device wafers can beused with the fusion bond method, namely a silicon wafer as shown inFIG. 3-FIG. 7, and a SOI wafer as shown in FIG. 8-FIG. 13.

FIG. 19-FIG. 21 and FIG. 25-FIG. 27 depict cross sectional views of asecond embodiment of a wafer stack and thus depict the correspondingprocess steps of a second method of making a wafer stack using an anodicbond between a device wafer and a substrate wafer to form the waferstack. Two types of device wafers are preferably used in the secondmethod, namely a single silicon wafer and a SOI wafer. Since the use ofa single silicon wafer is described with regard to FIGS. 3-FIG. 7, onlythe SOI wafer is shown in FIGS. 19-FIG. 21.

FIG. 22-FIG. 24 and FIG. 25-FIG. 27 depict cross sectional views ofmaking a third wafer stack and thus depict the corresponding processsteps of a third method of making a wafer stack. The third embodimentuses an adhesive bond to form the wafer stack. As with the first twoembodiments, the wafer stack is comprised of a device wafer and asubstrate wafer.

Two types of device wafers are used in the third embodiment, whichinclude, a single silicon wafer and a SOI wafer. The use of a singlesilicon wafer is described with regard to FIG. 3-FIG. 7. Only the SOIwafer is shown and described with regard to FIG. 22-FIG. 24.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the first method starts with two silicon wafers40 and 42. The top or upper wafer in FIG. 3 is referred to as a devicewafer 40 because it will carry the aforementioned piezoresistive devicesthat include a Wheatstone bridge circuit. The device wafer 40 has abottom surface 44 and an upper surface 46. The bottom or lower wafer isreferred to as a substrate wafer 42 because its purpose or function isto support the device wafer during various process steps set forthbelow. Only one of each silicon wafer 40 and 42 is shown in FIG. 3. Asmentioned above, two types of device wafers can be used with the firstmethod depicted in FIGS. 3-7, which are a single silicon wafer and a SOIwafer. The use of a single silicon wafer is described in FIG. 3-FIG. 7.

In FIG. 4, a first step of the first method is to form a cavity orrecess 48 into the lower surface 44 of the device wafer 40 by an etchingprocess. The depth of the recess 48 is preferably between about 5 toabout 20 microns. After the recess 48 is formed, it has its own bottomsurface 50. The bottom surface 50 is preferably formed to be planar orsubstantially planar. The intersection of the horizontal bottom surface50 of the cavity or recess 48 with the substantially vertical side walls56 of the cavity 48 that are formed during the etching process definesan outer perimeter 52 of the cavity 50.

FIG. 5 depicts a next step of the first method. In this figure, adielectric “tether” or dielectric tether layer 58 is formed over thesubstantially planar bottom 50 of the cavity 48. The dielectric tetherlayer 58 is preferably formed of silicone dioxide using thermaloxidation combined with polycrystalline silicon or silicon nitride usinglow pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD). The tether layer 58 isthin and preferably formed to have a nominal thickness less than about 2microns.

After the tether layer 58 is applied to the bottom 50 of the cavity 48,the next step of the first method is to attach the substrate wafer 42 tothe device wafer 40, substantially as shown in FIG. 6. The substratewafer 42 can be bonded to the device wafer 40 using a method known tothose of ordinary skill in the art as fusion bonding. Since fusionbonding is normally done at a temperature higher than 1000° C., a thinlayer of silicon oxide 100 will be formed in both the lower surface 44of the device wafer 40 and the top surface of the substrate wafer 42during the fusion bonding step. Depending on the bonding temperature andthe gases used for the fusion bonding step, the thickness of siliconoxide layer 100 can be from less than 100 angstroms to a couple ofmicrons.

After the two wafers are fusion bonded, the next step of the method isto thin and polish the device wafer 40 from its top side 46 downward,until the device wafer 40 has a thickness meeting a thicknessrequirement of the thin die 26 as shown in FIG. 15. Thinning the devicewafer 40 produces a new surface for the device wafer, the new surfacebeing identified by reference numeral 70 and is referred to hereafter asthe top surface 70 of the thin die 26, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 15.

In one application pressure sensor application, the thickness of thethin die 26 after the thinning step is between about 10 microns to about20 microns. The wafer thinning process starts from the top surface 46 ofthe device wafer 40 using methods known in the art of micro-fabrication,such as grind and polishing and chemical and mechanical polishing (CMP).

After the device wafer 40 is thinned, the wafer stack depicted in FIG. 7is ready for what are considered herein to be “back-end” process steps.Before describing the backend process steps, however, it is important todescribe a second method or process of using a fusion bond to form thewafer stack. This second method is depicted in FIG. 8-FIG. 13, whichuses a SOI wafer as the device wafer.

FIG. 8 shows two starting wafers used to make the wafer stack using thefusion bond method. In FIG. 8, the device wafer is a SOI wafer 40A,having a bottom surface 44A and an upper surface 46A. The device wafer40A is made of two silicon layers, a thick carrier layer 300 and a thindevice layer 400.

The piezoresistive elements used to form a Wheatstone bridge circuitdescribed above are fabricated in the thin device layer 400. The thindevice layer 400 has a thickness substantially equal to the sum of therequired thin die thickness, i.e., the thickness of the die 26, and thedepth of the recess 48 etched into the thin device layer 400 in thefirst step of the fabrication process. The carrier layer 300 acts as acarrier for the thin device layer 400 and is removed during a subsequentwafer thinning step that takes place after the wafer bonding step.

In the method depicted in FIGS. 8-13, and as can be seen in FIGS. 8-12,a buried oxide (BOX) layer 200 is formed and located between the carrierlayer 300 and the thin device layer 400. The thickness of the BOX layercan be from about 0.5 microns to about 3 microns.

In FIG. 9, a first step is to form the aforementioned cavity or recess48 into the bottom surface 44A of the thin layer 400 in device wafer 40Aby an etching process. The depth of the recess 48 is preferably betweenabout 5 microns to about 20 microns. When the recess 48 is formed, ithas its own bottom surface 50 that is preferably formed to be planar orsubstantially planar. As with the previously described structure, theintersection of the horizontal bottom surface 50 of the cavity or recess48 with the side walls 56 formed during the etching process defines anouter perimeter 52 of the cavity 48.

FIG. 10 depicts a next step of the first method using an SOI devicewafer 40A. In FIG. 10, a dielectric tether layer 58 is formed over thebottom 50 of the cavity 48. The dielectric tether layer 58 is preferablyformed of silicone dioxide using thermal oxidation combined withpolycrystalline silicon or silicon nitride using low pressure chemicalvapor deposition (LPCVD). The tether layer 58 is thin and preferablyformed to have a nominal thickness less than about 2 microns.

After the tether layer 58 is applied to the bottom 50 of the cavity 48,the next step of the first method using an SOI device wafer 40A isattaching the substrate wafer 42A to the device wafer 40A, as shown inFIG. 11. As with the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 3-7, in FIGS. 8-13,the two silicon wafers are bonded together by a fusion bond. Sincefusion bond is done at a temperature normally higher than 1000° C., athin layer of silicon oxide 100 will be formed in both bottom surface 44of the device wafer and the top surface of the substrate wafer duringthe fusion bond step. Depending on the bonding temperature and the gasesused for the fusion bond step, the thickness of the silicon oxide layer100 can be from less than 100 angstroms to a couple of microns.

After the two wafers 40A and 42A are bonded together, the next step isto completely remove the carrier layer 300 portion of the device wafer40A, as shown in FIG. 12. The preferred method of removing the carrierlayer 300 uses a mechanical grinding step to remove most of the carrierlayer 300 leaving only a thin residual carrier layer that is not visiblein the figures. The residual carrier layer is then removed by a chemicalthinning or etching step using potassium hydroxide (KOH) or othersilicon-etching chemicals.

An advantage of using a SOI wafer as the device wafer as opposed tousing two silicon wafers is that the BOX layer 200 can serve as an etchstop for the last chemical thinning step so that a thin device layer 400with a uniform thickness and a smooth surface 70 can be obtained afterthe wafer thinning step and after the BOX layer 200 is etched away asshown in FIG. 13. After the BOX layer 200 is etched away, the waferstack shown in FIG. 13 is ready for the aforementioned backend processsteps.

It should be pointed out that the cross-sectional view in FIG. 7 formedby using a single silicon wafer as the device wafer and in FIG. 13formed by using a SOI wafer as the device wafer have the same structure.The two processes depicted in FIGS. 3-7 and 8-13 therefore use the samebackend process steps, which are described below.

Referring now to FIG. 14, in a first embodiment of a back-end process,the circuit 62 having a piezoresistive Wheatstone bridge is formed intothe top surface 70 of the thin die 26 formed into a device wafer. Forsimplicity and brevity, the device wafer is identified by referencenumeral 40, whether the device wafer is silicon or SOI.

After the circuit 62 is formed, a trench 64 is etched into the topsurface 70 of the device wafer 40 all the way around the circuit 62 asshown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16. Importantly, the trench 64 extendscompletely around the circuit 62 and thereby defines a perimeter of thecircuit 62. Stated another way, the trench 64 is located outside of thearea of the device wafer 40 in which the circuit 62 is formed andextends completely around the circuit 62. The trench 64 is also locatedinside the outer perimeter 52 of the cavity 48 that was formed in thedevice wafer 40. As described above, the outer perimeter 52 of thecavity 48 is considered to be the intersection of the substantiallyplanar bottom surface 50 with the sidewalls 56 of the cavity 48. Theformation of the trench 64 thus defines the die 26 having apiezoresistive Wheatstone bridge circuit, which will be picked/placed onthe top side 22 of the diaphragm 20 as shown in FIG. 1-FIG. 2. FIG. 16shows a 3D cross-sectional view of a completed wafer stack in firstembodiment of using fusion bond to form the wafer stack

The trench 64 is formed by a silicon etching method, preferably deepreactive ion etch (DRIE), but can also use reactive ion etch (RIE) orchemical etch. In a preferred embodiment, the trench 64 is narrow andhas a nominal width less than about 10 microns, all the way around thecircuit that the trench 64 circumscribes. The narrow width of the trench64 allows for more additional die 26 to be formed in a wafer level thanwould otherwise be possible using prior art methods that require theformation of trenches that are much wider.

The trench 64 is formed to extend from the top surface 70 of the devicewafer 40 all the way down to the aforementioned tether layer 58. Thetether layer 58 thus functions as an etch stop layer for the processused to form the trench 64. Once the trench 64 is formed all the wayaround the circuit 62, the only structure holding the die 26 in place isthe tether layer 58.

In FIG. 15, the trench 64 is depicted as having two substantiallyvertical side walls that are orthogonal to the top surface 70 of thedevice wafer 40 due to the fact that the trench is preferably formedusing DRIE, which will produce a nearly-vertical sidewall. In anotherembodiment that does not use DRIE but uses instead RIE or chemicaletching, the trench sidewalls will be inclined or sloped. For purposesof claim construction however, the trench 64 is nevertheless consideredto have an inner sidewall that defines a sidewall of the die 26. Thetrench 64 is also considered to have an outer sidewall that is spacedapart from the inner sidewall by the trench. The width of the trench 64is also considered herein to be the spacing between the inner sidewalland the outer sidewall at the bottom of the trench, i.e., at tetherlayer 58. The inner sidewall of the trench 64 defines an inner perimeterof the trench; the outer sidewall of the trench 64 defines an outerperimeter of the trench. FIG. 16 shows a 3D cross-sectional view of acompleted wafer stack using the first method described above anddepicted in FIGS. 3-7 and 14-15.

Referring now to FIG. 17-FIG. 18, the die 26 is separated from the waferstack shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 by breaking the tether layer 58.Since the tether layer 58 is very thin, i.e. less than about 2 microns,breaking the tether layer 58 is readily accomplished using a die handlerand vacuum tip 66 such as the one depicted in FIG. 8 of U.S. Pat. No.6,608,370, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.

A first step of the separation process forces the die 26 downwardly andinto the cavity 48 to break the tether layer 58, which defines thebottom of the trench 64. Once the tether layer 58 is broken around thetrench 64, the vacuum tip 66 pulls the die 26 upwardly and away from thewafer stack as shown in FIG. 18. The die 26 can thereafter be processedto enable it to be attached to the diaphragm 20 of the sensing elementshown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

It should be noted in the foregoing description and in the accompanyingfigures that the tether layer 58 extends over substantially the entirebottom surface 50 of the cavity 48. The tether layer 58 is preferably acomposite layer made of at least two dielectric materials, but can alsobe formed of one dielectric layer. Whether there is one such a layer orcomposite or multiple layers, the fact that the tether layer 58 extendsover the bottom of the recess 48 and typically defines the bottom of thetrench 64, the tether layer 58 can be considered to be a single tethersince it is only one structure that holds the die 26 in the wafer stack.

In alternate embodiment, the tether layer 58 can be formed with holesduring fabrication to have one or more holes or it can be perforated tohave one or more holes after it is deposited, in order to facilitate dieseparation or the die attach process on diaphragm 20 of the sensingelement shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. In such an alternate embodiment, theperforated tether layer can also form multiple separate tethers, i.e.,multiple separate structures holding the die 26 in the wafer stack.

While FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 show that the die 26 is separated by firsturging the die 26 downward into the cavity 50 to break the tether layer58 around the trench, in an alternate embodiment, the die 26 is notforced downwardly at all but is instead only pulled upwardly by thevacuum tip 66. Pulling the die upwardly will also break the tether layer58 around the trench to free the die 26 from the device wafer 40.

FIG. 19-FIG. 24 depict cross sectional views of making a wafer stack indifferent front end process steps of a second embodiment of using anodicbond and a third embodiment of using an adhesive bond to form the waferstack. As shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 22, the second and third methods offorming a wafer stack also use two wafers to form the wafer stack. Theupper wafer 80 is a boron silicate glass wafer that is referred toherein as a cap wafer. The cap wafer 80 has a top surface 84 and abottom surface 82.

In FIG. 19-24, the bottom wafer is a device wafer 86, which can be asingle silicon wafer, but is preferably a SOI wafer. Since the use of asingle silicon wafer is already described in the first method associatedwith FIG. 3-FIG. 7, only the SOI wafer is shown in FIG. 19-FIG. 24. Asdescribed above, the SOI device wafer 86 has two silicon layers, whichare a thin device layer 400 having a top surface 88 and the carrierlayer having a bottom surface 90. The two silicon layers are attached toeach other through a buried oxide (BOX) layer 200.

In FIG. 20, a first step of the second method is to form a cavity orrecess 92 into the bottom surface 82 of the cap wafer 80 by an etchingprocess. The depth of the recess 92 is preferably between about 5microns and about 20 microns. When the recess 92 is formed, it has itsown bottom surface 93, preferably planar or substantially planar. Theintersection of the horizontal bottom surface 93 of the cavity or recess92 with the side walls 95 formed during the etching process defines anouter perimeter 97 of the cavity 92.

Separate and apart from the process used to form the cavity 92, thedevice wafer 80 is processed to form the aforementioned circuit 62 onthe top surface 88 of the device wafer 80, as shown in FIG. 20. Thecircuit 62 formed in the device wafer 86 necessarily occupies a fixedand identifiable area, which will be separated from the thin devicelayer 400 by a trench 98 surrounding the circuit area, thus forming thethin die 26 as shown in FIG. 24. For purposes of simplicity and brevity,the circuit 62 and its corresponding perimeter are depicted asrectangular or square, however, the circuit and its perimeter can alsoassume other shapes that include a trapezoid, rhombus or otherrectilinear shapes as well as circles, ellipses, triangles or othernon-rectilinear shapes. however, the square or rectangular shape is mostefficient in that it wastes less wafer space than other non-rectilinearshaped.

After the circuit 62 is fabricated, the top surface 88 is covered with adielectric film 94 to passivate or protect the circuit 62 however, it isnecessary to remove the dielectric passivation film material from metalbond pads that are used for making electrical connections to the circuit62 in subsequent sensor element assembly steps. The passivation layer 94should also be removed from a sealing zone that extends around theperimeter of the circuit 62 where the anodic bond is to be formedbetween the cap wafer 80 and the device wafer 86.

The passivation layer 94 is preferably a composite dielectric filmhaving a thickness less than about 2 microns, preferably comprised ofsilicon dioxide and at least one of the dielectric materials such asLPCVD silicon nitride, PECVD silicon nitride and oxide. In oneembodiment, the passivation layer 94 also serves as the “tether” or“tether layer” to support the thin die 26 when the trench 98 is formedas shown in FIG. 27. In another embodiment, the tether layer around thedie outer perimeter and trench comprises layer 94 and a ductile film.The inclusion of a ductile material, such as aluminum, as a part of thetether layer tends to reduce the production of debris when the tether isbroken during the die pick/place step in the sensing element assemblysteps. In an alternative embodiment, a stand alone ductile metal or anorganic film such as polyimde can be used as the tether layer.

FIG. 21 shows that after the recess 92 is formed on the cap wafer 80 andafter the circuit 62 and tether layer 94 are formed in the device wafer86, the two wafers 80 and 86 are attached to each other using an anodicbond. The anodic bond joins the bottom surface 82 of the cap wafer 80and the top surface 88 of the device wafer 86. Since the anodic bondtechnique is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, thedetails of forming an anodic bond are omitted for brevity.

As can be seen in FIG. 21, the area of the cavity 92 is large enough,i.e., the area enclosed by the cavity wall 95 is greater than the outerperimeter of the circuit 62. The cap wafer 80 thus encloses and protectsthe circuit 62 during subsequent processing steps. To simplify thedescription, before presenting the backend process steps for a secondmethod, so-called front end process steps for a third method aredescribed first because both methods share the same “backend” processsteps.

The third method proposed to fabricate the wafer stack that holds manythin dice uses an adhesive bond to attach a cap wafer and a device wafertogether. As shown in FIG. 22, the cap wafer 80 has a top surface 84 andbottom surface 82 and is preferably formed from a boron silicate glasswafer, but can also be formed from a silicon wafer. The device wafer 86is preferably a SOI wafer, but can also be a single silicon wafer. Sincethe use of a single silicon wafer is already described in the firstmethod associated with FIG. 3-FIG. 7, only the SOI wafer is describedfor the third method.

As described above, the SOI device wafer 86 has two silicon layers, athin device layer 400 having a top surface 88 and the carrier layerhaving a bottom surface 90. The two silicon layers are attached to eachother through a buried oxide (BOX) layer 200.

In FIG. 23, a first step of the third method is to form a circuit 62 onthe top surface 88 of the device wafer 86. The circuit 62 necessarilyoccupies or requires a fixed and identifiable area which will beseparated from the thin device layer 400 by a trench 98 surrounding thearea, thus forming a thin die 26 as shown in FIG. 27. For purposes ofsimplicity the circuit 62 and its corresponding perimeter are usuallyrectangular or square. After completion of the circuit 62, the topsurface 88 is covered with a dielectric film 94 to passivate the circuit62. The passivation layer 94 should be removed from the metal bond padsfor wire bonding in later sensing element assemble step. In an optionalstep, the layer 94 is removed from a sealing zone where the adhesivebonding between the cap wafer 80 and the device wafer 86 is formed.

The passivation layer 94 is a composite dielectric film having athickness around or less than about 2 microns, and comprising of silicondioxide and at least one of the dielectric materials such as LPCVDsilicon nitride, PECVD silicon nitride and oxide. In one embodiment,this paasivation layer 94 also serves as the tether layer to support thethin die 26 when the trench 98 is formed as shown in FIG. 27. In anotherembodiment, the tether layer around the die outer perimeter and trencharea comprises layer 94 and a ductile film. The purpose of having theductile material as a part of the tether layer is to minimize thequantities of the debris when the tether is breaking during the diepick/place step in the sensing element assembly steps. The ductile filmis preferred to be aluminum, but can also be other metals or organicfilms such as polyimide.

In the step of attaching both wafers 80 and 86 together using adhesivebond as shown in FIG. 24, the adhesive 96 is formed into a picture frameshape with an inner perimeter 95 using a pattern. The area inside theinner perimeter 95 of the adhesive frame is free of the adhesivematerial and is larger than the circuit area 62 in the device wafer 86.This picture frame type adhesive layer surrounding and beyond thecircuit area 62 forms a recess between the bottom surface 82 of the capwafer 80 and the top surface 94 of the circuit 62. The thickness of theadhesive layer 96 which is also the depth of the recess is typicallybetween 5 to 20 microns providing enough clearance of the bottom surface82 of the cap wafer 80 from the top surface 94 of the circuit 62 indevice wafer 86. A few of the materials that can be used for theadhesive bonding are frit glass and epoxy based polymer, for examplebenzocyclobutene.

As shown in FIG. 24, the wafer stack is ready for the so-called“backend” fabrication process steps, which are the same for the methodusing the wafer stack formed by an anodic bond. The followingdescription does not distinguish which method is used to form a waferstack but it should be kept in mind that the backend process steps shownin FIG. 25-FIG. 27 apply to both methods in which both cross-sectionalviews for two methods are shown.

Referring now to FIG. 25, the next step is to remove the carrier layer300 of the device wafer 86. A preferred method of removing the carrierlayer 300 uses mechanical grinding to remove most of the carrier layer300 and leave only a thin residual carrier layer. The thin residuallayer is then removed by chemical thinning or etching using KOH or othersilicon etch chemicals. An advantage of using a SOI wafer as the devicewafer is that the BOX layer 200 can serve as an etch stop for the lastchemical thinning step so that a thin device layer 400 with an uniformthickness and a smooth surface 91 is obtained after the wafer thinningstep and etching away the BOX layer 200 as shown in FIG. 26.

After the device wafer 86 has been thinned down, a trench 98 is etchedinto the bottom surface 91 of the thinned device layer 400 as shown inFIG. 27. Unlike the trench 64 in the first method described above, thetrench 98 in the second and third methods is etched from the bottomsurface 91 of the die 26 having a circuit 62. Similar to the firstmethod, however, the trench 98 is formed all the way through the thindevice layer 400 to the tether layer 94. And, as with the previousembodiment, the tether layer 94 acts as an etch stop layer for theetching process used to form the trench 98.

The trench 98 is formed from the bottom 91 of the thin device layer 400where it is outside or beyond the outer perimeter the circuit 62 butinside the cavity sidewalls 95. When the trench 98 is formed all the wayaround the circuit 62 and defines the die 26, which remains in place inthe wafer stack until the die 26 is picked from the wafer stack bybreaking the tether layer 94. The formation of the trench 98 around thecircuit 62 thus defines the die 26 used in the pressure sensing elementassembly in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. FIG. 28 is a perspective cross-sectionalview of a wafer stack having thin die 26 supported by the tether 94 inthe third method. The die 26 so formed is separated from the wafer usinga process essentially the same steps depicted in FIGS. 17 and 18 above,but which is depicted in FIG. 29 and FIG. 30 for completeness.

The die 26 is separated from the device wafer stack by a vacuum tip 66that is applied or contacts the bottom surface 91 of the die 26. As withthe structure shown in FIGS. 17 and 18 and the method describedtherewith, the vacuum tip 66 can be used to force the die 26 downwardinto the cavity 92 to break the tether 94 as shown in FIG. 29, ordirectly pull the die 26 upwardly and away from the cavity 92 to breakthe tether layer 94 as shown in FIG. 30.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the die 26 on thepressure sensing element assembly 10 of a pressure sensor depicted inFIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is formed in and separated from a wafer stack usingeither method depicted in FIGS. 3-30. Thereafter, the die 26 is attachedto the top side 22 of the diaphragm 20, as depicted in FIG. 1 and FIG.2, by an adhesive layer 27, preferred to be frit glass, so that the die26 will exert near the maximum stress change responsive to the diaphragmdeflection by the applied pressure signal in the hollow cylinder 18 inFIG. 1-FIG. 2. It is the stress change induced by the diaphragmdeflection responsive to the applied pressure signal that results in aresistance change of the piezoresistive Wheatstone bridge device in thedie 26. This resistance change signal responsive to the applied pressuresignal is electrically amplified and processed by the electronics tooutput an electrical signal in a format required by specificapplications.

For brevity and clarity, only the pressure sensing element assembly 10of a pressure sensor is described. Components and assembly steps formaking a complete pressure sensor, such as sensor packaging, otherelectric circuits and components, and connection and calibration stepsare well known in the art and not addressed in the text and figures.

Those of ordinary skill in the electronics arts will recognize that theresistance changes of a Wheatstone bridge circuit responsive to apressure applied to either side of the diaphragm can be detected and/orconverted into an electrical signal by various different electroniccircuits and methods but which are not described and shown in the textand figures for clarity.

The foregoing description of the methods forming a pressure sensingelement, and methods of fabricating thin electrical devices in a waferlevel or in a wafer stack, and separating dice from a wafer stack andmounting a die on to a pressure port are all for purposes ofillustration only. The true scope of the invention is set forth in theappurtenant claims.

1-34. (canceled)
 35. A method of forming a die from a wafer stack, the wafer stack being comprised of a silicon device wafer having first and second sides and a silicon substrate wafer, the method comprised of: forming a cavity from the first side of the silicon device wafer, the cavity having an outer perimeter defined by a cavity wall and a cavity bottom surface; forming a tether layer on the bottom surface, the tether layer comprising at least one of silicon oxide, silicon nitride or poly silicon; attaching a silicon substrate wafer to the first side of the silicon device wafer, the silicon substrate wafer extending over the cavity and beyond the outer perimeter of the cavity; thinning the silicon device wafer by removing silicon from the second side of the silicon device wafer thereby forming a die top surface; forming a circuit on the die top surface; forming a trench from the die top surface to the tether layer and which surrounds a region having the circuit, the trench having an inner perimeter and an outer perimeter, the outer perimeter of the trench being less than the outer perimeter of the cavity, the trench having a width defined by its inner and outer perimeters and a depth extending from the die top surface to the tether layer.
 36. The method of claim 35, wherein the step of forming a circuit is performed after the steps of forming a tether layer, attaching a silicon substrate wafer, and thinning the silicon device wafer.
 37. The method of claim 35, wherein the step of forming a circuit is performed prior to the step of forming the trench.
 38. The method of claim 35 further comprised of the step of separating the die from the wafer stack by breaking the tether layer.
 39. The method of claim 38 further comprised of the step of attaching a vacuum tip to the die prior to the step of breaking the tether layer.
 40. The method of claim 38, wherein the step of breaking the tether layer is comprised of at least one of urging the die toward the cavity and pulling the die away from the cavity.
 41. (canceled)
 42. The method of claim 35, further including the step of perforating the tether layer.
 43. The method of claim 35, wherein the step of forming a tether layer is comprised of forming a dielectric layer having a thickness less than about two microns.
 44. The method of claim 35 or 43, wherein the step of forming the tether layer includes forming a layer made of at least one: silicon oxide; polycrystalline silicon; silicon nitride.
 45. The method of claim 35 or 43 wherein the step of forming a tether layer uses at least one of: thermal oxidation; low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD); and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD).
 46. The method of claim 35, wherein the step of forming the cavity includes the step of forming the cavity to a depth less than about twenty microns.
 47. The method of claim 35 or 46 wherein the step of forming the cavity is comprised of silicon etching.
 48. The method of claim 35, wherein the step of forming a trench includes the step of forming the trench having a width less than about ten microns.
 49. The method of claim 35 or 48 wherein the step of forming a trench is comprised of silicon etching.
 50. The method of claim 35, wherein the step of attaching a silicon substrate wafer includes the step of bonding the silicon substrate wafer with the silicon device wafer together.
 51. A method of forming a die from a wafer stack, the wafer stack comprising a silicon device wafer having first and second sides and a cap wafer having top and bottom sides, the method comprised of: forming a circuit on the first side of the silicon device wafer, within a die region, which has a die outer perimeter; forming a tether layer on the first side of the silicon device wafer which at least partially covers and extends beyond the circuit; attaching the cap wafer to the first side of the device wafer to form a gap over the circuit and over a first area extending beyond the circuit; thinning the silicon device wafer from the second side of the silicon device wafer forming a die back side; forming a trench from the back side of the die to the tether layer, the trench having an inner perimeter substantially aligned with the die outer perimeter, the trench having an outer perimeter greater than the inner perimeter, the trench having a width defined by its inner and outer perimeters at the tether layer and a depth extending from the back side of the die to the tether layer.
 52. The method of claim 51, wherein the cap wafer is a borosilicate glass wafer.
 53. The method of claim 51 or 52, wherein the gap between the cap wafer and the first side of the device wafer in an area covering and extending beyond the circuit, is formed from the top side of the cap wafer and into the cap wafer.
 54. The method of claim 51 or 52, wherein the step of attaching a cap wafer includes the step of anodic bonding the top side of the cap wafer and the first side of the silicon device wafer together.
 55. The method of claim 51, wherein the cap wafer is a single crystalline silicon wafer.
 56. The method of claim 51 or 55 wherein the step of attaching a cap wafer includes the step of bonding the top side of the cap wafer and the first side of the silicon device wafer together using an adhesive material.
 57. The method of claim 56 wherein the gap between the cap wafer and the first side of the device wafer is formed by selectively removing adhesive in an area of above the circuit using a pattern.
 58. The method of claim 51 further comprised of the step of separating the die from the wafer stack by breaking the tether layer.
 59. The method of claim 58 further comprised of the step of attaching a vacuum tip to the back side of the die prior to the step of breaking the tether layer.
 60. The method of claim 59, wherein the step of breaking the tether layer is comprised of at least one of forcing the die toward the gap and pulling the die away from the gap.
 61. (canceled)
 62. The method of claim 51, further including the step of perforating the tether layer.
 63. The method of claim 51, wherein the step of forming a tether layer is comprised of forming a dielectric layer having a thickness less than about two microns.
 64. The method of claim 51, wherein the step of forming the tether layer includes forming at least one of: silicon dioxide; silicon nitride; polysilicon; polyimide; films of ductile metals.
 65. The method of claim 64 wherein the step of forming a tether layer includes forming a layer using at least one of: thermal oxidation; low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD); plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD); sputtering; evaporation; and coating and curing
 66. The method of claim 51, wherein the step of forming a trench includes the step of forming the trench to a depth substantially equal to the die thickness.
 67. The method of claim 51 or 66 wherein the step of forming a trench is comprised of silicon etching.
 68. The method of claim 51, wherein the step of forming a trench includes the step of forming the trench to a width less than about ten microns.
 69. The method of claim 53, wherein the step of attaching a cap wafer includes the step of bonding the top side of the cap wafer and the first side of the silicon device wafer together using at least one of anodic bonding and an adhesive material.
 70. The method of claim 51 or 66, wherein the step of forming a trench is comprised of silicon etching, and wherein the step of forming a trench includes the step of forming the trench to a width less than about ten microns. 